Global InformationMeet the Temptations information
| Meet the Temptations | ||||
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| Studio album by The Temptations | ||||
| Released | April 13, 1964[1] | |||
| Recorded | Spring 1961 – January 1964 | |||
| Genre | Soul, doo-wop | |||
| Length | 31:33 | |||
| Label | Gordy GS 911 | |||
| Producer | Berry Gordy, Andre Williams, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Smokey Robinson, and Norman Whitfield | |||
| The Temptations chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Meet the Temptations | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Record Mirror |  [3] |
Meet the Temptations is the debut studio album by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1964. It includes most of the group's early singles, excluding only the first, "Oh Mother of Mine", and its b-side, "Romance Without Finance" (later included on a CD reissue of the LP); as well as the single "Mind Over Matter" (and its b-side "I'll Love You Till I Die"), in which the group is credited as The Pirates. The album consists entirely of previously released singles, including the group's first hit single, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".
The lineup on the cover features Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, and newest Temptation Davis (later David) Ruffin. Ruffin had just joined the act three months before this album was released, and actually only appears on "The Way You Do The Things You Do". The other tracks all feature original Temptation Elbridge "Al" Bryant, who was fired from the group in December 1963.
Again, excepting the hit single, these tracks all date from the Temptations' slow-selling starting period (during which some Motown staffers referred to them as the "hitless Temptations"). Despite local success in Detroit and the midwest, the Temptations released six singles that missed the Top 100 Pop & R&B charts, and one, "Dream Come True", which made it to #22 on the R&B singles chart. Most of these songs feature Paul Williams as (main) lead, while Kendricks, Bryant, Franklin, and Otis Williams were given plenty of lead lines, ad-libs and harmony vocals heard throughout the album. Kendricks was also given a small handful of songs to lead as well, including the two charting singles.
The album was originally issued only in monaural sound. A stereo remix of the album was issued along with the original mono version in 1966. The bonus tracks were added to the album in 1999.
- ^ "New Album Releases". Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. 18 April 1964. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (8 May 1965). "The Temptations: Meet The Temptations" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 217. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.